CAUTION: If you have uncontrolled hypertension or heart disease it is not advised that you start practising cold water immersion. If you have any doubt at all as to whether you are fit enough to give this practice a go, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
My guest today believes cold exposure can help you battle disease, regulate your mood and help you connect with your true self.
Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.
Today’s clip is from episode 127 of the podcast with Wim Hof, also known as The Iceman.  
Wim has been described as a ‘trailblazer for human potential’ and a ‘modern legend’. He has performed incredible feats such as withstanding extreme temperatures and climbing Kilimanjaro wearing only a pair of shorts. 
In this clip, he explains why taking a cold shower every morning could improve your health, reduce stress and help you take on any day.
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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

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Welcome to Feel Better Live More Bite Size, your weekly dose of positivity and optimism to get you ready for the weekend.

Today's bite size is brought to you by AG1, 1 of the most nutrient-dense whole food supplements that I've come across, and I myself have been drinking it regularly for over 5 years.

It contains vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and so much more, and can help with energy, focus, gut health, digestion, and support a healthy immune system.

If you go to drinkag1.com forward slash live more, they are giving my listeners a very special offer, a free 1 year supply of vitamin D and 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first order.

See all details at www.drinkag1.com forward slash live more.

Today's clip is from episode 127 of the podcast with Wim Hof, also known as The Iceman.

Wim believes that cold exposure can help you battle disease, regulate your mood and help you connect with your true self.

In this clip, Wim explains why taking a cold shower every morning could improve your health, reduce stress and help you take on any day.

The cold, without a doubt, very directly, very effectively, very strongly is able to tackle the biggest health problem in the world, which is the cardiovascular-related diseases.

We have the organ, which is called our skin, and we never expose it to natural elements.

Electroreceptors, thermoreceptors, they are all in the surface of our skin that directly goes when we take a cold shower, like an electrical jolt through our spine to our deepest part of our brain, the brainstem.

Oh, yeah, the shocking experience that you are surviving.

That is a great way to not only give a jolt to say an electro shock to your brain for people who are into depression this is great you just take the cold shower and your depression is going to be depressed so that is 1 The other thing is all of us, we have 100, 000 kilometers, like 70, 000 miles of vascular little channels, capillaries, arteries, and veins.

That is like 2 and a half times the world.

And they help the blood flow going through but not if it is in a condition after we have lived living with clothes all the time which is a de-stimulative behavior and which makes the muscle tone go low.

Our heart is pumping more than it should.

It's pumping more because it tries to get the blood flow full of oxygen, the nutrients and the vitamins to the cells.

You weaken yourself because you are in stress.

And that stress, that creates oxidative stress through continuous presence of cortisol.

And that is when the heart rate goes up, that is normally done when there is danger to pump the glucose through the body and the adrenaline.

Now it is danger because we have a weak condition within our vascular system.

Maybe not when you are young still, but when you are

A cold shower stimulates all the vascular muscle tone and thus the blood flow will go better to the cells.

Heart rate goes down with 20 to 30 beats a minute, 24 hours a day.

And the energy is being fed, the energy processes, the metabolic mitochondrial processes are being fed with all the oxygen, nutrients, vitamins, all what is needed, you get plenty of energy.

So when you take a cold shower a day, it is great.

It's like a vaccination, a natural vaccination, where you make your body the way nature meant it to be, with a great blood flow, which doesn't know inhibition, fears, blockages, sclerosis, or anything like that, because it's flowing.

There is no cortisol, no oxidative stress going on.

Everybody in the world should take the damn beautiful cold shower a day.

And the investment is by far the outcome.

You get so much more energy and so much more peace because the stress will go out of your body.

When someone's underneath the cold water, right?

First of all, how cold does it need to be?

Does it need to be cold enough to give them a shock?

Then the second question just to be super practical.

You can have cold water over your head and you can tense up and last 10 or 15 seconds if you have to, but that's gonna be very different than if you have the cold water and you lean into it and you relax and you breathe.

So for people who feel inspired to go, okay, all right, Wim, I'm gonna try and have a cold shower.

What is the minimum amount of time they need?

What is the temperature they need it to be?

And is there a difference if they're tense or whether they're relaxed and slow breathing?

So first of all, know that everybody is capacitated by nature, by birthright, to go into the stressful natural environment called the cold.

A cold shower you are able to take on any day.

Now, if you are in a vascular condition which has been alienated from going into the cold stress ever, then of course you have to take it step by step.

You begin with a hot shower, and then you get into the last 30 seconds of cold.

Turn it to cold and then your vascular system is very well able to, in this case passively because you got into the heat of the hot shower, then it works like a sauna and then you have a cold dip.

It's passive because you've got a lot of heat and so you are able to lose a lot of heat passively through taking on the cold shower.

30 seconds to begin with is activating, igniting the memory cells within you, the genome expressions in the cell to adapt to the situation.

So in 30 seconds it's able to be activated to give this spark of neural activity that initiates a different neural activity that directly influences into the vascular system.

The vascular system and the neurology are tied together and they know how to act.

And in the 30 seconds, to begin with, anybody can do that.

And from 30 seconds the other day, you do 40 seconds, 50 seconds, up to 2 minutes.

In 10 days everybody is able to take for 2 minutes a cold shower, 2-3 minutes.

And at that point you are back at your natural condition of your vascular system is when you are able to get into say natural bodies of water like in the UK in wintertime and we are in the end mammals guys and it's great to feel the mammal inside because it's very powerful.

They sleep outside in rain and the cold and this and that.

So once a day getting into a cold shower everybody is able to do.

Many books can be written just on the outcome of what a cold shower is doing.

Physically, mentally, astrally, spiritually, emotionally.

It's all different bodies at work because it all relates to a great blood flow.

When they're in the cold shower, do they then need to do anything with that breath?

Or you know, is there something people should be trying to do?

Or they just need to tolerate the cold for as long as they can.

Don't cramp up, don't curl, no contraction of your muscles.

You get What do you do is when you really feel cold, and it's not cold right now, guys.

You are exercising the vascular system when you take a cold shower now.

But in winter, you're gonna meet your true self within the elements of nature.

And for that, we condition our vascular system.

And it always goes through long out breaths.

This is the way you go into the cold shower and then the body is able not to get into panic, not into paranoia, no, it's able to adapt.

The thermogenesis is able to do what the body is able to do.

If you do this, then the body is not able to do what the body is able to do.

If all you do, right, is take a cold shower each day and you do nothing with your breath, even that I'm guessing will have some benefit, but the benefit is magnified if you also do the breathing.

Because once you learn to control your breath, going into the cold shower, you enter into getting a hold on the stress upon the body through holding your breath.

It's the beginning of getting into the stress mechanisms inside the brain.

And then the unlocking of the potential to neurologically control the stress mechanisms of your brain is beginning.

And it can go very fast that you learn to control what you could not control in the past, which then created fear instead of confidence.

Now you will learn to have confidence because your brain now is able to be entered into these stress mechanisms to activate it whenever you need it.

It's like instead of being helpless, suddenly you have a gun in your hand.

You are powerful against the stressor coming in.

I'm not into war, guys, I'm not a cowboy.

I'm into peace, and bringing peace is bringing a true confidence that you are able to confront yourself with any kind of stressor.

That is the way you bring peace to yourself.

Take them on guys because you will be ready to take on any stressor in the world coming to you.

Your happiness, strength, and health, that is who you are.

Do spread the love by sharing this episode with your friends and family.

If you want more, why not go back and listen to the original full conversation with my guest.

If you enjoyed this episode, I think you will really enjoy my bite-sized Friday email.

Each week I share things that I do not share on social media.

It contains 5 short doses of positivity, articles or books that I'm reading, quotes that I'm thinking about, exciting research I've come across and so much more.

The goal is for it to be a small, yet powerful dose of feel good to get you ready for the weekend.

You can sign up for it free of charge at drchatterjee.com forward slash Friday 5.

Make sure you have pressed subscribe and I'll be back next week with my long-form conversational Wednesday and the latest episode of Bite Science next Friday.


Speaker 0: Welcome to Feel Better Live More Bite Size, your weekly dose of positivity and optimism to get you ready for the weekend. Today's bite size is brought to you by AG1, 1 of the most nutrient-dense whole food supplements that I've come across, and I myself have been drinking it regularly for over 5 years. It contains vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and so much more, and can help with energy, focus, gut health, digestion, and support a healthy immune system. If you go to drinkag1.com forward slash live more, they are giving my listeners a very special offer, a free 1 year supply of vitamin D and 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first order. See all details at www.drinkag1.com forward slash live more.

Today's clip is from episode 127 of the podcast with Wim Hof, also known as The Iceman. Wim believes that cold exposure can help you battle disease, regulate your mood and help you connect with your true self. In this clip, Wim explains why taking a cold shower every morning could improve your health, reduce stress and help you take on any day.

Speaker 1: Why is the cold so powerful?

Speaker 2: The cold, without a doubt, very directly, very effectively, very strongly is able to tackle the biggest health problem in the world, which is the cardiovascular-related diseases. We have the organ, which is called our skin, and we never expose it to natural elements. It is built to be able to be stimulated. Electroreceptors, thermoreceptors, they are all in the surface of our skin that directly goes when we take a cold shower, like an electrical jolt through our spine to our deepest part of our brain, the brainstem. It's being alive.

Oh, yeah, the shocking experience that you are surviving. That is a great way to not only give a jolt to say an electro shock to your brain for people who are into depression this is great you just take the cold shower and your depression is going to be depressed so that is 1 The other thing is all of us, we have 100, 000 kilometers, like 70, 000 miles of vascular little channels, capillaries, arteries, and veins. Like 100, 000 kilometers. That is a lot. That is like 2 and a half times the world.

It's in each and every 1 of us. They contain millions of little muscles. And they help the blood flow going through but not if it is in a condition after we have lived living with clothes all the time which is a de-stimulative behavior and which makes the muscle tone go low. And who has got to compensate for that? That is our heart.

Our heart is pumping more than it should. It's pumping more because it tries to get the blood flow full of oxygen, the nutrients and the vitamins to the cells. And it is not able to do that. You weaken yourself because you are in stress. And that stress, that creates oxidative stress through continuous presence of cortisol.

And that is when the heart rate goes up, that is normally done when there is danger to pump the glucose through the body and the adrenaline. That is for there is danger. Now it is danger because we have a weak condition within our vascular system. Maybe not when you are young still, but when you are

Speaker 0: 30, 35, 40,

Speaker 2: it begins really to wear out. A cold shower stimulates all the vascular muscle tone and thus the blood flow will go better to the cells. Heart rate goes down with 20 to 30 beats a minute, 24 hours a day. And the energy is being fed, the energy processes, the metabolic mitochondrial processes are being fed with all the oxygen, nutrients, vitamins, all what is needed, you get plenty of energy. So when you take a cold shower a day, it is great.

It's like a vaccination, a natural vaccination, where you make your body the way nature meant it to be, with a great blood flow, which doesn't know inhibition, fears, blockages, sclerosis, or anything like that, because it's flowing. There is no cortisol, no oxidative stress going on. This is the way nature meant it to be. Everybody in the world should take the damn beautiful cold shower a day. It is not difficult.

And the investment is by far the outcome. You get so much more energy and so much more peace because the stress will go out of your body.

Speaker 1: When someone's underneath the cold water, right? First of all, how cold does it need to be? Does it need to be cold enough to give them a shock? Is the first question. Then the second question just to be super practical.

You can have cold water over your head and you can tense up and last 10 or 15 seconds if you have to, but that's gonna be very different than if you have the cold water and you lean into it and you relax and you breathe. So for people who feel inspired to go, okay, all right, Wim, I'm gonna try and have a cold shower. What is the minimum amount of time they need? What is the temperature they need it to be? And is there a difference if they're tense or whether they're relaxed and slow breathing?

Speaker 2: Exactly. So first of all, know that everybody is capacitated by nature, by birthright, to go into the stressful natural environment called the cold. So, a cold shower is cold. A cold shower you are able to take on any day. That's the first 1 to know.

Now, if you are in a vascular condition which has been alienated from going into the cold stress ever, then of course you have to take it step by step. But it goes very fast. You begin with a hot shower, and then you get into the last 30 seconds of cold. Turn it to cold and then your vascular system is very well able to, in this case passively because you got into the heat of the hot shower, then it works like a sauna and then you have a cold dip. It's passive because you've got a lot of heat and so you are able to lose a lot of heat passively through taking on the cold shower.

30 seconds to begin with is activating, igniting the memory cells within you, the genome expressions in the cell to adapt to the situation. That's the way the DNA works. So in 30 seconds it's able to be activated to give this spark of neural activity that initiates a different neural activity that directly influences into the vascular system. The vascular system and the neurology are tied together and they know how to act. And in the 30 seconds, to begin with, anybody can do that.

And from 30 seconds the other day, you do 40 seconds, 50 seconds, up to 2 minutes. In 10 days everybody is able to take for 2 minutes a cold shower, 2-3 minutes. And at that point you are back at your natural condition of your vascular system is when you are able to get into say natural bodies of water like in the UK in wintertime and we are in the end mammals guys and it's great to feel the mammal inside because it's very powerful. You know that mammals are very powerful. They sleep outside in rain and the cold and this and that.

See how far we got away from that. So once a day getting into a cold shower everybody is able to do. And with that the outcome is tremendous. Many books can be written just on the outcome of what a cold shower is doing. Physically, mentally, astrally, spiritually, emotionally.

It's all different bodies at work because it all relates to a great blood flow.

Speaker 1: When they're in the cold shower, do they then need to do anything with that breath? Or you know, is there something people should be trying to do? Or they just need to tolerate the cold for as long as they can.

Speaker 2: Don't cramp up, follow the breath. Don't cramp up, don't curl, no contraction of your muscles. You get What do you do is when you really feel cold, and it's not cold right now, guys. The cold shower is good. It's thermogenesis.

You are exercising the vascular system when you take a cold shower now. That is great. But in winter, you're gonna meet your true self within the elements of nature. And that is a great experience. And for that, we condition our vascular system.

And it always goes through long out breaths. This is the way you go into the cold shower and then the body is able not to get into panic, not into paranoia, no, it's able to adapt. The thermogenesis is able to do what the body is able to do. If you do this, then the body is not able to do what the body is able to do.

Speaker 1: If all you do, right, is take a cold shower each day and you do nothing with your breath, even that I'm guessing will have some benefit, but the benefit is magnified if you also do the breathing. Is that right?

Speaker 2: Absolutely. Absolutely. Here comes in the power of the mind. Because once you learn to control your breath, going into the cold shower, you enter into getting a hold on the stress upon the body through holding your breath. It's the beginning of getting into the stress mechanisms inside the brain.

Speaker 0: Wow.

Speaker 2: And then the unlocking of the potential to neurologically control the stress mechanisms of your brain is beginning. And it can go very fast that you learn to control what you could not control in the past, which then created fear instead of confidence. Now you will learn to have confidence because your brain now is able to be entered into these stress mechanisms to activate it whenever you need it. It's like instead of being helpless, suddenly you have a gun in your hand. You are powerful!

You are powerful against the stressor coming in. I'm not into war, guys, I'm not a cowboy. I'm into peace, and bringing peace is bringing a true confidence that you are able to confront yourself with any kind of stressor. That is the way you bring peace to yourself. Take them on guys because you will be ready to take on any stressor in the world coming to you.

Future is yours. Your happiness, strength, and health, that is who you are.

Speaker 0: Hope you enjoyed that Bite-sized clip. Do spread the love by sharing this episode with your friends and family. If you want more, why not go back and listen to the original full conversation with my guest. If you enjoyed this episode, I think you will really enjoy my bite-sized Friday email. It's called the Friday 5.

Each week I share things that I do not share on social media. It contains 5 short doses of positivity, articles or books that I'm reading, quotes that I'm thinking about, exciting research I've come across and so much more. I really think you're gonna love it. The goal is for it to be a small, yet powerful dose of feel good to get you ready for the weekend. You can sign up for it free of charge at drchatterjee.com forward slash Friday 5.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Make sure you have pressed subscribe and I'll be back next week with my long-form conversational Wednesday and the latest episode of Bite Science next Friday.

See all Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee transcripts on Applepodcasts

#377 BITESIZE | Why You Should Take a Cold Shower Every Morning for Good Health | Wim Hof